Question

Errors in transcription occur about 100,000 times as often as do errors in DNA replication. B) Why do you think a cell can tolerate a higher rate of error in RNA synthesis than in DNA synthesis?

Answer 1

A cell can tolerate a higher rate of error in RNA synthesis than in DNA synthesis because RNA is a temporary copy and doesn't carry the genetic information for the long-term survival of the organism. DNA replication is highly accurate due to repair mechanisms, while transcription has less efficient repair mechanisms. This allows for a higher rate of error in RNA synthesis.

Step-by-step explanation:

Errors in transcription occur about 100,000 times as often as errors in DNA replication. The reason a cell can tolerate a higher rate of error in RNA synthesis than in DNA synthesis is because RNA is a temporary copy of the DNA molecule and does not carry the genetic information for the long-term survival of the organism. DNA replication is a highly accurate process due to the presence of repair mechanisms, such as DNA ligase, polymerase I, and polymerase II, which proofread and fix mistakes during the copying process. These repair mechanisms are not as efficient in the transcription process, which allows for a higher rate of error in RNA synthesis.

Answer 2

Cells tolerate higher rates of error in RNA synthesis because many copies of that RNA will be made, and only some of them have errors, which means that a high number of normal copies are also made, being enough to overcome and correct the problem. Another point is that DNA molecules are temporarily inherited. When it comes to errors in DNA synthesis, the mutation can be permanent if it`s not corrected until the next cell division, which makes errors in DNA synthesis more dangerous and with more consequences than in RNA synthesis, leading the cell to tolarate only a lower rate of errors.